Apple announced on Mac OS Forge today that they have open sourced their Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC). ALAC was introduced in 2004 as OS X’s core audio codec to compress audio files 40-60 percent without losing any quality. The codec is currently supported by Macs and the latest iOS devices. ALAC was reversed engineered in 2005, but more and more applications could begin to adapt the codec now that it’s open sourced....

Today, Apple has made available the open-source components of OS X Mavericks’ code to the public. Apple regularly does this for both iOS and OS X as prescribed by the license agreements of the open source code Apple uses. Under the license terms of these components, Apple can use the open source code but must share its own contributions and improvements with the community, so that others can benefit. Therefore, as Mavericks was released to the public on Tuesday, Apple was due to post the open-source code shortly after....

Yesterday Apple quietly pushed an update to Final Cut Pro X, the first update since its big 10.4.4 update back in November. Final Cut Pro X 10.4.5 doesn’t add any new features, but includes several stability improvements. Here’s the full change log for Final Cut Pro X 10.4.5: Improved performance when generating waveforms for clips with no audio channels Improves stability when sending a project to Compressor using the keyboard shortcut Shift-Command-E Improves stability when pasting Arabic or Hebrew text into a title Improves stability when switching tabs in the Timeline Index There are no exciting new changes in this update, but given how critical an app Final Cut Pro X is, stability and performance enhancements are music to my ears....

Apple has released macOS 10.12.2 beta 4 for Mac. The new update follows the initial macOS 10.12.2 beta at the end of October and multiple additional builds since. Today’s build comes in at version 16C53a, up from 16C48b, and is available from the Mac App Store. macOS 10.12.2 includes Unicode 9.0 emoji support, which matches compatibility in beta versions of iOS 10.2 and watchOS 3.1.1. macOS 10.12.2 will be released to everyone in the future (likely December), and the beta allows developers to test pre-release versions of the software update before it’s released....

Following the release of the first iOS 14.3 developer beta last Thursday, Apple has just released iOS 14.3 and iPadOS 14.3 beta 2 to developers. The update comes with some minor tweaks in addition to the Apple ProRAW mode for iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The most notable change in iOS 14.3 is related to the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Users with these two iPhone models can now enable Apple ProRAW mode, which captures RAW images directly on the Camera app....

Apple has quietly released the latest versions of its video and motion effects software. Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Motion, and Compressor all have new versions available for Mac users with some new features along with stability and performance improvements. Notably, Final Cut Pro now has native support for RED RAW decoding and playback. Spotted first by Aaron Zollo, the latest builds of Apple’s video suite are showing as updated yesterday but appear to have started showing up widely for users today....

A few weeks after releasing watchOS 8.5, Apple is seeding watchOS 8.6 beta 1 to all developers. Here’s everything we know so far about this upcoming update, which could be the latest before watchOS 9, set to be introduced during WWDC 2022. Today’s build is 19T5547f. As of now, only developers can download the first beta of watchOS 8.6. After a weak watchOS 8.5 release, Apple isn’t likely to add any major improvement to watchOS 8....

Apple is making a big push with gift cards for the holidays with the most notable change being gift cards for its retail stores arriving through third-party retailers, according to sources. The company already sold iTunes/App Store gift certificates through a number of retail parters, but it has just recently started selling its Apple Store gift cards outside its own channels as well. Apple Retail will also make changes to repair procedures tomorrow including the introduction of in-store repairs for Beats products....

Apple today announced a major expansion of its Independent Repair Provider Program in the US, adding hundreds of new authorized locations. Businesses in Canada and 32 countries in Europe will also be able to sign up for the first time. The repair program began last fall as a way for more customers to access safe and high-quality iPhone repairs with genuine Apple parts. With many Apple Store locations across the US still closed or reclosed due to COVID-19, access to repair options has become more important than ever before....

Apple Music notifications have never necessarily been a reliable source for new music releases. But Apple is now rolling out a new change that aims to bring notifications in-app. Read on as we explain what that means and how to enable it. As you can see in the above image, the new releases notification will appear at the top of the “Library” tab in the Music app. So when an artist you have in your Apple Music Library releases a new song or album, you’ll see a notification banner at the top of the Library interface....

Apple today released watchOS 7.3.1 for the Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch SE. The release notes indicated that the update includes a fix to prevent a bug that caused those Apple Watch models to get stuck in Power Reserve Mode. Apple has published a new support document to complement watchOS 7.3.1 with additional details on this bug. For those unfamiliar, Power Reserve lets you see the time on your Apple Watch while preserving your battery life....

Beginning later this week, Verizon and Apple are partnering on a new promotion for Apple News+. Any iPad activated through Verizon will qualify for a free six-month subscription to Apple News+. The deal arrives as Apple is trying to juice interest in the News+ service, which includes access to a handful of newspapers and ~300 magazines for $9.99 per month. The six-month free period will be available for any Apple ID that has not used News+ before....

Since OS X Maverick’s launch last year, there have been complaints from users of the official Mac Mail app with Gmail accounts. Apple has fixed up many of the bugs in various patches, but one of the still recurring bugs prevents the Mail app from loading up new messages. Instead of releasing another patch today, Apple has outlined a fix on its support website: So, essentially, Apple is providing a workaround that normally requires quitting and re-opening Mail....

Apple has released the fifth beta version of iOS 11.2 beta for developers. tvOS 11.2 beta and macOS 10.13.2 beta 5 are also available for testing. There doesn’t appear to be a new watchOS 4.2 beta today. Here’s what we’ve seen so far: iPhone 8 / 8 Plus / X marketing still wallpapers now available on older iPhones (download here) Feedback app included during beta No sign of Messages in iCloud yet, some level of AirPlay 2 present Calculator bug caused by slow animation fixed Some emoji are tweaked Additional Live wallpapers for iPhone X (see here) Apple Pay Cash beta for testing New introductory pricing option for subscription apps New Control Center explainer for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth behaviors New Control Center indicator on iPhone X (previously spotted from Apple but not in prior iOS versions) Faster wireless charging tvOS 11....

Following the release of the iOS 14.5.1 update to the public, Apple has just released watchOS 7.4.1 for Apple Watch users. The company doesn’t say exactly what has changed with today’s update beyond mentioning that this version brings security improvements. watchOS 7.4 was released in late April with an important new feature that lets iPhone users unlock their device with the Apple Watch while wearing a mask, instead of using Face ID....

Apple has just released the seventh beta of watchOS 7.4 to developers. This update brings an important new feature that lets Apple Watch users unlock iPhone models with Face ID when wearing a mask instead of asking for a password. Update: Apple has just released watchOS 7.4 beta 7 for public beta users as well. For example, you can check your shopping list on your phone in the grocery store without entering your passcode a dozen times if you wear an Apple Watch with a passcode....

Earlier today, Apple was criticized by Chinese state media for allowing a a Hong Kong protest app into the App. Now, Apple has reportedly removed the Quartz application from the App Store at the request of the Chinese government. According to Quartz investigations editor John Keefe, Apple has removed the Quartz app from the iOS App Store. The website, which has been covering the Hong Kong protests in detail, has also been blocked across all of mainland China....

Apple today updated its website to reflect that it will open its fourth retail store in Hong Kong on Canton Road at 9:00 AM local time on July 30th. We first saw photos of this store under construction back in February. The store is located at 100 Canton Road in the southern portion of Kowloon in the high-end retail area Tsim Sha Tsui. Plans for the store were announced all the way back in 2013....

A Chinese State-owned film studio is suing Apple, alleging that the company sold its animated movies on iTunes without permission, reported the South China Morning Post. The 3.3m CNY ($531,000) lawsuit follows five consecutive days of media attacks by the State-owned People’s Daily, claiming Apple’s customer service and refund policies in China are inferior to those offered in other countries. Apple is also being sued by a Shanghai-based company that alleges Siri infringed a patent used in its own ‘Xiao i Robot’ voice-recognition systems …...

In August of last year, Apple launched a trade-in program that allowed iPhone customers to turn in their old iPhones in exchange for a discount on a new device. The program has expanded to several countries since it launched last year. Starting today the company now extends the offer to German customers as well. German users of the Apple Store app have started seeing the program listed within the app, though the update has yet to roll out to Apple’s retail website....